he fleet of Allectus, which had
been stationed off the Isle of Wight to receive them, landed in safety
on some part of the western coast, and convinced the Britons, that a
superiority of naval strength will not always protect their country from
a foreign invasion. Asclepiodatus had no sooner disembarked the imperial
troops, then he set fire to his ships; and, as the expedition proved
fortunate, his heroic conduct was universally admired. The usurper
had posted himself near London, to expect the formidable attack of
Constantius, who commanded in person the fleet of Boulogne; but the
descent of a new enemy required his immediate presence in the West.
He performed this long march in so precipitate a manner, that he
encountered the whole force of the praefect with a small body of harassed
and disheartened troops. The engagement was soon terminated by the total
defeat and death of Allectus; a single battle, as it has often happened,
decided the fate of this great island; and when Constantius landed on
the shores of Kent, he found them covered with obedient subjects. Their
acclamations were loud and unanimous; and the virtues of the conqueror
may induce us to believe, that they sincerely rejoiced in a revolution,
which, after a separation of ten years, restored Britain to the body of
the Roman empire.

Chapter XIII: Reign Of Diocletian And This Three Associates.--Part II.

Britain had none but domestic enemies to dread; and as long as the
governors preserved their fidelity, and the troops their discipline,
the incursions of the naked savages of Scotland or Ireland could
never materially affect the safety of the province. The peace of the
continent, and the defence of the principal rivers which bounded the
empire, were objects of far greater difficulty and importance. The
policy of Diocletian, which inspired the councils of his associates,
provided for the public tranquility, by encouraging a spirit of
dissension among the barbarians, and by strengthening the fortifications
of the Roman limit. In the East he fixed a line of camps from Egypt to
the Persian dominions, and for every camp, he instituted an adequate
number of stationary troops, commanded by their respective officers,
and supplied with every kind of arms, from the new arsenals which he had
formed at Antioch, Emesa, and Damascus. Nor was the precaution of the
emperor less watchful against the well-known valor of the barbarians of
Europe. From the mouth of the Rh